


Finding Answers

by tazzy10



Series: Cochise and the Half-Breed [1]
Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Fix-It, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Protective Josh, Sort-of, Wendigo Josh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-23
Updated: 2016-01-23
Packaged: 2018-05-15 16:58:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5792605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tazzy10/pseuds/tazzy10
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chris goes back for answers about Josh 6 months after the prank and wendigo fiasco</p>
            </blockquote>





	Finding Answers

Chris felt like utter shit. He had felt like this since the mountain, since he had left his best friend to die alone. Everyone had made it off except Josh and while everyone was traumatized in some way, Chris seem to come out the worst besides Josh himself. Shortly after getting rescued Chris had fallen into a severe depression, blaming himself for what had happened to Josh, for failing him in every way possible. Ashley had not been able to deal with her own memories and Chris’s own mind falling apart on him, so she had left, not that Chris blamed her for it. The rest of his friends all kept their distance trying to feel normal again and Chris understood that as well. 

However, for his own sake of mind, Chris needed to go back up that mountain and honestly, he did not care if he was hunted by the wendigo and was killed. He just needed to know, to get closure on something that would haunt him for the rest of his life if not. Chris fake smiled and lied his way and soon enough he stood in front of the lift to take him to where this had all started. Taking a deep breath, Chris got in the lift and sat down trying to breathe through his panicking thoughts. Please Josh, he thought, please don’t be dead. I’ll lose myself without you. 

Once the lift came to a stop Chris clambered out with his backpack full of food and clothes. It was still light outside so he decided to head toward the ruined remains of the lodge. Coming up on the wreckage caused Chris to suffer through some flashbacks of that night and the pain associated with not having Josh when they were rescued. Swallowing his grief down, he made his way toward the mines knowing that was the last place Josh was seen and hoping against everything that Josh was okay and still breathing. 

As Chris descended into the darkness of the mines, he pulled out a couple of flares from his backpack and lit one to hold out in front of him. Several confusing turns later and he was standing in the middle of a large part of the mine that had claw marks all over the walls. Chris walked over to a set and slowly put his hand against the marks following the movement down before pulling away and attempting to not break out into tears. He ran out of the room and softly started calling for Josh, “Josh? Josh you in here? Please if you are here talk to me buddy! Josh, please!” 

Chris walked into another large part of the mines and almost gagged as a horrendous smell assaulted his senses. “Oh my god! What is that?!” He lifted the flare and his eyes widened as he saw what was left of a rotting corpse. Chris fell on his ass and scrambled back as quick as he could freaking out even more as the flare he was holding flickered and then went out. “Don’t do this to me come on… I haven’t found Josh yet, please…” Chris mumbled quickly to himself, grabbing the extra flare in his pocket and striking it with trembling hands. The light of the flare immediately made Chris feel safer, however, as soon he made it out of that awful cavern something hit his back making the flare roll away and flattening Chris onto his stomach.

Chris screamed and tried to get up but the pressure on his back didn’t let up. Tears streamed down his face as he realized that he was going to die down here without knowing what had happened to Josh. However, the claws of the wendigo behind him did not immediately eviscerate him into chewable bites. Chris froze for what felt like an hour but was only for a few seconds before he felt the breath of the wendigo behind him on his ear. “Chris…” Chris seemed to become even stiller because that thing behind him was mocking Josh’s voice. “Don’t…” Chris whispered between his sobs escaping him, “You’re not him! Sto-You ca- You are not Josh! You can’t steal his voice!” 

The monster behind him flipped him over onto his back and Chris slammed his eyes shut not wanting the image of the wendigo be the last thing he sees. He felt a claw carefully, and strategically be placed against his chin tilting it up, “Chris… Cochise, open your eyes. Trust me, please.” Josh’s voice was always so warm to Chris and after keeping his hopes down carefully opened his eyes, and promptly started to shake his head no because that was Josh. Granted he looked a little wendigo-ish with the left side of his mouth split open, the sharp teeth glinting against the light from the fallen flare and the claws but other than that it was recognizably Joshua Washington. Chris started crying again a little harder, “Are you real?” 

Josh’s green eyes shined in empathy, “I’m real Cochise, and I’m here promise.” Chris suddenly threw himself up into Josh’s chest and was caught and crushed into Josh’s embrace. “I-I th-thought that you we-were dead a-and I cou-couldn’t live w-without knowing…” Chris sobbed into Josh’s chest and felt Josh tighten his hold even more. “I’m so glad you came back Cochise and you found me, okay? I’m right here.” Josh whispered into Chris’s hair as a few tears fell from Josh’s own eyes. “Chris, Cochise, we need to go okay. We need to leave before it becomes dark outside so can you walk or do I need to sweep you off your feet?” 

Chris trembled before he grabbed the flare and stood back up after a few tries, and Josh quickly followed his lead. Chris frowned, see pouted, as he realized that since becoming wendigo, half wendigo maybe Chris wasn’t sure why Josh wasn’t bald and crawling around like a naked spider but so not complaining about it, Josh was now taller than him by at least a foot. Josh seemed to know what irked Chris and just smirked at him as he towered over his best friend. “C’mon,” Josh finally said after they just gazed at the other for a few minutes, “We got to go, like pronto Cochise.” Chris nodded and they headed back towards the surface together, Josh being barely an inch away from him and performing bodyguard duty like it was his passion.

As they reached the opening to the mines, Chris turned back worriedly and asked, “Josh what about the sun? Will it hurt you?” Josh smiled softly with his right side of his mouth before shaking his head, “No, only mild discomfort. I’m not about to go bursting into dust on you or anything like that Cochise.” Chris nodded slowly before looking down and grabbing Josh’s hand being mindful of the claws, fingers rubbing soft circles into the skin. Josh wanted nothing more than to cuddle the ever loving shit out of his Cochise at that moment but he knew that he had to get Chris to safety before anything. 

Josh pulled Chris by their joined hands and set a fast pace for the lift, knowing that as the little bit of sun still out disappeared their chances of getting out unharmed also disappeared. Finally, the lift came into view and Josh herded Chris into it and started it up. They were already half way down when the last bit of sun vanished and the wind carried the shrieks of the wendigo left back on the mountain to the pair in the lift. Josh let out a growling noise before pulling Chris against him protectively. “We made it…” Chris said softly to Josh and their eyes met again. Josh leaned forward and pressed the right side of his mouth against Chris’s forehead sighing fondly, “Yeah Cochise, we made it.” 

Chris beamed up at Josh, then froze as he realized that the last time he had seen Josh was when he had tied him in a shed because Josh was off his meds and having trouble distinguishing himself from his hallucinations. Yet, this Josh seemed to be sane of mind and completely in the now. “Josh,” Chris began uncertainly, “How are you okay? I mean last time I saw you, you were off your meds and seeing things and you really were freaking me out, but now you seem fine and ya know yourself…” Josh winced as Chris trailed off before he leaned down making sure that Chris was looking straight at him then began, “Cochise listen, I am so sorry about what happened 6 months ago. I was seeing a terrible psychiatrist who didn’t help me, and then I started seeing Hannah and Beth around, and I just decided to stop taking my meds thinking it would help. In all that, I thought that since they played a prank that messed with my sister’s emotions then the only revenge would to play one right back to screw with their emotions. I was wrong but the worst thing is that I hurt you and legitimately scared you and I’m sorry. I think the wendigo side of me balanced me back because I stopped hallucinating after I took the first bite and realized what a dick I was to everyone but more importantly to you.”

Chris eyed Josh for the longest time before nodding, “Okay, but why are you not a creepy life sized Gollum frolicking in the blood and guts of others?” Josh’s eyes steeled, “Because I only took two bites before I understood that I was eating a man’s head and threw it out for the others. Since then, I’ve ate a lot of Bambi and Thumpers, however, those two bites were enough to cause all this.” Josh gestured at his face and hands and legs. Chris smiled genuinely for the first time in 6 months before burrowing into Josh’s side, “We have more to talk about later but for now, I’m going to enjoy the fact that I got you back.”

Josh cradled Chris to him, “Chris…” Josh paused long enough for Chris to remove his head from its resting place in confusion and ask, “Yes?” Josh closed his eyes before letting out a huge breath and looking Chris straight in the eyes, “I love you.”

**Author's Note:**

> I fell in love with these two while I watched my brother play and this is a product of that love.


End file.
